Thermal and damage analysis of laser-induced decomposition within carbon/epoxy composite laminates

Fire-induced decomposition of composite materials used for aircraft structures involves complex and coupled multi-physics phenomena studied through conventional standard tests such as cone calorimeter, FAR25.856(b):2003 and ISO2685:1998(e), for instance. It is proposed to address this issue within controlled environment and accurate heat loading. Thermal response and damage evolution are investigated experimentally and numerically to analyse the anisotropic and heterogeneous behaviour of decomposing composite laminates subjected to laser heating and confined within the test chamber of the BLADE facility developed at ONERA. Accurate heat transfer measurements are correlated with numerical results from MoDeTheC solver and post-decomposition micrographic imaging in order to analyse the material thermo-chemical behaviour and identify the damage mechanisms.